Warmth
by demonicflute
Summary: Leo-centric fic. Minor Frazel. One shot. Leo-Hazel-Frank friendship.


**warmth-** (n). a quality proceeding from feelings of affection or love

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Leo couldn't remember the last time he slept so well. If it hadn't been for Hazel, and with the help of Frank, forcefully pushing him towards the lower decks of the Argo II, he probably would have still been up there, consuming all the energy drinks he could find.

Although the seven demigods had established shifts so that everyone could get some shut eye, Leo always felt uneasy leaving his baby behind. What if something happened while he was sleeping and no one could operate the ship? What if they all got attacked because he too busy sleeping? What if they couldn't wake up and all of his friends were kidnapped by a cyclop-pirate? The risks were too high, so Leo decided to stay awake and take care of his friends. It was the least he could do, anyway.

"Go and get some sleep, Leo," Hazel urged. "Frank and I can take care of it for a couple of hours."

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Leo replied, finally giving in. "But make sure not to never, ever, and I mean ever—,"

"Touch the blue button. Yeah, I got it for the billionth time, Leo." Frank, said cutting him off.

"You don't understand how crucial it is! If you touch it, you—"

"We'll be spotted. We know, okay. We're not five."

"I just didn't want you guys to accidentally push it while you guys were fooling around or something."

"W-what," Hazel stammered. "We're not going to that…"

"Yeah," Frank backed up. "We have things..we need to watch the ship."

They were both facing opposite directions and Frank started turning a little pink. _No way_, Leo thought. He stared at the couple. There's no way, right? The longer he stared the more apparent it became and despite himself Leo suddenly laughed out loud, startling the other two.

Leo laughed. And laughed. And laughed. He laughed until his stomach hurt and there were tears streaming down his face. He wasn't sure how but he had ended up on the ground. Every time he caught a glimpse of their faces, fresh laughter bubbled out of his mouth.

Frank and Hazel looked at each other. "Leo maybe you should really get some sleep," Hazel suggested, her eyes wide with worry.

"What? I'm fine. Great, actually. I feel like a million bucks."

"You don't look like a million bucks," Frank mumbled. Leo turned to face Frank.

"He's right," Hazel cut in quickly, sensing an argument arising. "You're a mess. When was the last time you actually had a nice shower? Changed your clothes? Brushed your hair? Leo, you've been so preoccupied with the ship you've forgotten about yourself!"

"I don't need to shower, not until we all get there safely," Leo grumbled.

Hazel walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulders. "You do need to. You matter too, Leo. Don't forget that. And besides, what if our lives depended on you but you wouldn't be able to save us because you had no energy left?"

Leo hadn't thought about that. It hadn't crossed his mind, at all. He looked into her golden eyes and felt himself submitting. Hazel could come up with convincing points when she wanted to.

"Fine," Leo sighed. "I'll go to sleep and take a shower in the morning."

Hazel smiled brightly at him, as if she was genuinely happy, and Leo had to look away. Her smile always made Leo feel the sort of warmth he could only get from his mom's smile. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Hazel was, in a way, the mother of the group. She was always looking out for everyone, making sure that everyone was comfortable and that no one was left out. It was amazing, really.

Leo carried that warmth inside him all the way to his bed. It had been a while since he felt like this and he wanted to preserve the feeling for as long as he could. As he lay there, memories of his mother played behind his closed eyelids. When sleep finally came to take him under his wing, he fell asleep with a smile on his face and his mother's laugh in his ears.

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**A/N:** Another Leo fic from me. I just can't get enough of him and I really do love Hazel and Frank so I had to add them too. Reviews are love!


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